Brain awareness in coaching

Did you know that your brain has a left and right hemisphere? They offer us two different perspectives on the world and ourselves. Brain awareness can make a huge impact on your coaching practice. Our right hemisphere is the primary centre of our relational perspective. This is the seat of empathy, the home of our emotions, while the left hemisphere hosts our instrumental view and understanding. This is where we get things done.

Why is this important to be aware of as a coach? So very often our clients are not able to connect to their feelings, because they are operating from an instrumental “what to do?” approach, rather than attuning to what goes on inside and revealing what’s at stake. Their perspective might be un-nuanced as if they were embarking on a journey without a map of the territory.

As coaches, our job is to offer segways away from the narrative and the what-to-do-next stress, and into an experiential state where the client is able to register what this dilemma does to them on a somatic, emotional, and relational level. Once they are able to feel themselves and connect to what is important, a more nuanced, complex picture forms, and they are more likely to conclude on relevant next steps that don’t have unwanted, unimagined consequences.

There are a number of segways into the right hemisphere. First of all, we need to remember that the client might have good reasons for not going there spontaneously. Whereas the right, relational part of the brain is our true, experienced home from where we feel ourselves and each other, it is also the home of unprocessed emotions from difficult moments. Entering this terrain needs to happen gently and with respect, if the client doesn’t respond with a ‘yes’ to our invitation.

The relational brain is also where our imagination has its roots. Asking the client for a metaphor for their situation is a classical entrance point. Metaphors are like dreams and can be deepened and explored and deliver intuitive and surprising openings to complex dilemmas in a playful manner. Once the dilemma is resolved in the metaphorical universe, we can invite the client into the reality of their dilemma again and ask how the metaphorical solution applies to their real life. You’ll be surprised how often it translates directly.

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